Pay / GDP
Discover how much world leaders and CEOs earn compared to the GDPs (in millions) of their respective countries. For example, the table below shows that Samsung CEO Kinam Kam earns £2.22 for every £1,000,000 that South Korea generates in GDP.
# | Name / Role | Company | GDP | Pay / GDP | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kinam Kim | Samsung (South Korea) | 1,619,424 | 2.22 | |
2 | Satya Nadella | Microsoft (USA) | 20,544,343 | 2.09 | |
3 | Sundar Pichai | Google (Alphabet) (USA) | 20,544,343 | 2.04 | |
4 | Oliver Zipse | BMW (Germany) | 3,947,620 | 1.35 | |
5 | Bernard Arnault | Louis Vuitton (France) | 2,777,535 | 1.3 | |
6 | Chuck Robbins | Cisco (USA) | 20,544,343 | 1.26 | |
7 | Mark Zuckerberg | Facebook (USA) | 20,544,343 | 1.1 | |
8 | Bob Chapek | Disney (USA) | 20,544,343 | 1.1 | |
9 | Ola Källenius | Mercedes (Germany) | 3,947,620 | 0.97 | |
10 | John Donahoe | Nike (USA) | 20,544,343 | 0.9 | |
11 | Virgina Rometty | IBM (USA) | 20,544,343 | 0.85 | |
12 | Bob Swan | Intel (USA) | 20,544,343 | 0.81 | |
13 | James Quincey | Coca Cola (USA) | 20,544,343 | 0.79 | |
14 | Stephen Easterbrook | McDonalds (USA) | 20,544,343 | 0.77 | |
15 | Larry Culp | General Electric (USA) | 20,544,343 | 0.75 | |
16 | Akio Toyoda | Toyota (Japan) | 4,971,323 | 0.72 | |
17 | Tim Cook | Apple (USA) | 20,544,343 | 0.56 | |
18 | Jennifer Morgan | SAP (Germany) | 3,947,620 | 0.54 | |
19 | Christian Klein | SAP (Germany) | 3,947,620 | 0.51 | |
20 | Jeff Bezos | Amazon (USA) | 20,544,343 | 0.08 | |
21 | Larry Ellison | Oracle (USA) | 20,544,343 | 0.08 |
* Pay refers to total remuneration, which can include bonuses, stock options, pension contributions and other benefits. The CEOs included here head up Interbrand’s top-20 global brands (there are 21 CEOs in this list because Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein are joint CEOs of SAP). Figures were converted from native currencies to GBP, EUR and USD using forex rates at close on 18 March 2020. You can see the full research methodology for Pay Check here.
CEO and world leader pay vs GDP: fast facts
- Samsung’s Kinam Kim earns more in relation to his country’s GDP than any other top-20 brand CEO, with pay of £2.22 for every £1,000,000 that South Korea generates
- Oracle’s Larry Ellison is the lowest paid top-20 global brand CEO by this metric, earning just £0.08 for every £1,000,000 of US GDP
- The average top-20 global brand CEO earns £0.94 for every £1,000,000 that their country generates in terms of GDP (equivalent to €0.94 per €1,000,000 or $0.94 per $1,000,000)